10 Things You Need To Know About Tory Burch

When we
hear the name Tory Burch, we
immediately think of the high-end, ready-to-wear American brand with the iconic
T-logo medallion. It is the brand that introduced the Reva Ballet Flats and whose bags,
sunglasses and shoes are flying off the shelves at Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom
and Saks. It is the brand
celebrities, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jessica Alba, Kerry Washington,
Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon and the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton,
love to wear with its chic and feminine designs.

But who
really is Tory Burch? Who is the woman behind this multi-billion dollar
international brand other than the blonde beauty whom we see in the magazine
features and television?

Tory Burch

Here
are 10 things that will get you started in knowing this famous fashion
designer:

1. Tory
Burch was born as Tory Robinson

Tory
Robinson is the daughter of former actress, Reva Schapira, and investor, Earl
"Bud" Robinson. Tory Robinson became Tory Burch when she married her
second husband, investor and entrepreneur J. Christopher Burch, who she has
three sons and three stepdaughters with. Although they divorced in 2006, she
continues to use his last name.

2. Tory
grew up in a farmhouse and was a tomboy

Born on
June 17, 1966 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Tory was raised in a 250-year old
Georgian farmhouse, along with her three brothers, Robert, James and Leonard.

As a
child, Tory has said that she was a tomboy and was not interested in fashion
but because of her stylish parents’ influence, she developed a passion for it
later on. As an adult, she has attributed many of her qualities and love for
fashion to her parents.

3. She
started out as the girl who gets coffee

When
Tory moved to New York to pursue a career in the fashion industry, she started
working as an assistant to Yugoslavian fashion designer Zoran, followed by
Harper's Bazaar magazine. Then she became a copywriter for Ralph Lauren before
she worked with Vera Wang on the ready-to-wear division. But it wasn’t until
she decided to start her own lifestyle brand that she attempted to design
herself.

4. She
started her brand at home

Tory
began designing clothes in her kitchen. She began her fashion label, "TRB
by Tory Burch"—later known as just "Tory Burch." Before long,
she had an important celebrity endorsement and soaring sales figures.

She
opened her first small boutique on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan, which was
designed to feel more like a residential space than a traditional retail store,
and since then the brand has grown into a global business with presence in more
than 50 countries.

5. TV
made her big

Her
business boomed after television mogul Oprah Winfrey, who was and still is a
fan of Burch's work, endorsed the designer calling her "the next big thing
in fashion." Oprah was certainly right. The next day, the Tory Burch
website received over 8 million visitors.

In
2009, Tory appeared on an episode of the popular television series "Gossip
Girl", which solidified her youth appeal. Her styles were very popular
with the viewers and fans of the television show, which they often appeared on
among different generations of the trendy Manhattan cast that included the teen
fashion icons Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

6.
She’s a Fashion Week late bloomer

It is
somewhat shocking to know that this designer has not been showing at New York
Fashion Week for long. After years of holding presentations, her very first
full show at Lincoln Center was in 2011.

7. Tory
Burch is a Techie

Always ahead of the curb, in 2014 at New York
Fashion Week, the Tory Burch brand was the first to use Google’s Lightbox,
which is Google’s custom brand exchange, to live stream video of the runway
show. The designer also added a line of accessories for the Fitbit Flex
activity-tracking device, making hers the first major fashion brand to move
into wearable technology in 2014.

Known
for digital innovation, the company also has websites in Europe and Asia; a
Webby-nominated app called the Tory Daily; and a robust social media presence.

8. Tory
takes inspiration from her mother

In
2006, Burch invented the 'Reva' ballerina flats, which were named after her
mother and were an instant hit with consumers and critics. Journalist, Michael
Shnayerson described Tory’s designs as an homage to the 50s and 60s.

“Imagine
a stylish woman of that day who lived on the Philadelphia Main Line, shopped in
New York for the latest fashions from Rudi Gernreich, Hubert de Givenchy, and
Sonia Rykiel, vacationed every year in Europe, packing the latest French and
Italian styles into her Vuitton steamer trunks for the trip home, and on her
way stopped in Morocco for tunics. That woman was Tory Burch’s mother, Reva. To
a great extent, Burch’s clothes are inspired by what she coveted in her
mother’s closets.”

9.
Social responsibility is an integral part of Tory’s life.

As a
dedicated philanthropist, Tory launched the Tory Burch Foundation to support
the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs and their families in the
United States. In 2014, the foundation
established the Elizabeth Street Capital, an initiative with Bank of America
that provides women entrepreneurs access to low cost loans, mentoring support
and networking opportunities. Burch’s stores also sell products, in which
proceeds support the foundation.

10.
Tory Burch is a Fashion Mastermind

A
fashion designer, businesswoman and philanthropist Tory Burch is most certainly
a fashion mastermind. Her American lifestyle brand is undoubtedly one of the
most prolific to have been launched in this century, going from a very small
operation out of an Upper East Side apartment in New York City to a $3.5
billion global business.

This
designer has been recognized with numerous awards, including the CFDA for
Accessory Designer of the Year, Glamour’s Women of the Year, and Vanity Fair’s
International Best-Dressed List. It is no surprise that as of 2014 Forbes lists
Tory as the 79th Most Powerful Woman In The World.

Get to
know more on how this fashion mastermind made it all the way to the top and
become a fashion billionaire. Let’s explore the life and design evolution of
the iconic American designer on Fashion Masterminds: Tory Burch, exclusively on
Fashion One and Fashion First.